Americans For Legal Immigration

As first reported on Right Wing Watch, William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC appeared on The Janet Mefferd Show and discussed the possibility of a military coup and other “extra-political activities that I can’t really talk about because they’re all illegal and violent” to overthrow “Dictator Barack Obama.” While Gheen later denied the comments, even after they were replayed to him verbatim on Alan Colmes’s show, Mefferd yesterday weighed in on Gheen’s statements.

Mefferd strongly distanced herself from Gheen and made clear that she does not endorse Gheen’s extreme rhetoric. “I don’t think President Obama is a dictator. And I also don’t advocate the illegal or violent overthrow of the government; in fact William himself has now said that is not what he was trying to say either,” Mefferd said, “I don’t advocate military coups.”

Mefferd: I just want to make a quick clarification on a guest who was on my show the other day, William Gheen is the head of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC. We had had him on the show before and he was a good guest, he had some valid thoughts on the subject of illegal immigration. So we had talked to William Gheen before, he’s on the other side of the issue and we decided to invite him back on the show and find out what his thoughts were. And if you heard that interview you heard that William had some strong words of objection to the recent decision, he had some very strong words in some instances to this decision. And after the interview there were some far-left websites and radio shows who picked up on this, we’re getting some emails complaining that we allowed him to say some of the things he said.

So briefly I want to see this: in the case of William Gheen referring to President Obama as a dictator, that is not my opinion. I don’t think President Obama is a dictator. And I also don’t advocate the illegal or violent overthrow of the government; in fact William himself has now said that is not what he was trying to say either. I don’t advocate military coups.

So I just want to make that clear. I interview a lot of people on this show, and I’ll tell you quite honestly there are an awful lot of political and theological opinions that guests say and callers say on my show that I don’t agree with. But I tend to let people talk, and that tends to be more of my style. I think my listeners are smart enough to draw their own conclusions by people’s statements. So that is generally what I tend to do. I ask the question, I get out of the way and I allow people to decide for themselves whether or not the segment that was just aired was worthwhile. In this case you though know it’s a judgment call on every front whether or not to engage someone on a strong opinion with which you disagree or just to let it go and move on.

But later on when I was able to hear some of the remarks that he had made, I realized I should’ve engaged him right then and there and I should’ve just talked to him directly about what he had just said and clarified what he was really trying to say. So honestly at the time he had an awful a lot to say and the exact statement and question slipped past me at the time. And were I to go back and be able to it again I would’ve addressed it and I would’ve said something to William, and said, ‘William, is that really what you mean? Do you really mean what some people might interpret that last statement to say? Anyway, I thought it was worthwhile to let you know that William’s statements on those particular things did not reflect my views, at all.

William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC joined Janet Mefferd today to make the case that President Obama is now a dictator who plans to create a police state and use undocumented immigrants to wage war on “White America.” Gheen, who previously accused Obama of treason and “replacing many core Americans” (among other radical claims), told Mefferd that “extra-political activities that I can’t really talk about because they’re all illegal and violent” may be needed to bring down Obama. Later in the interview, Gheen demanded that Republicans begin an impeachment process against Obama but lamented that he couldn’t hold marches in Washington D.C. because he was afraid that the president has too many supporters among the city’s black and Latino residents.

Gheen: What Janet Napolitano has spent most of her time doing in the last couple of months has been, one, preparing the new spy network that’s available now, the new data-collecting, see everything you do online, beyond the normal terrorist list that they’re creating, they’re creating a much larger list now of people who might be troublesome here in the country. And putting out videos and propaganda telegraphing what I believe to be a conflict with White America they’re preparing for after they get another 10 or 15 million people in the country to back them up.

…

We’re no longer referring to him as President Barack Obama, our national organization has made the decision and made the announcement we now refer to him as Dictator Barack Obama. That’s what he is. And basically at this point, if you’re looking for a peaceful, political recourse there really isn’t one that we can think of, and I’m really not sure what to tell people out there than I guess they need to make decisions soon to just accept whatever comes next or some type of extra-political activities that I can’t really talk about because they’re all illegal and violent.

Following the election, RWW will bring you our list of the "The Ten Scariest Republicans Heading to Congress." Our ninth candidate profile is on Tom Marino of Pennsylvania:

In 2007, Tom Marino resigned from his position as US Attorney in Pennsylvania after a corruption scandal clouded his career and raised questions about his honesty. Marino had used his official title as US Attorney to provide a reference in 2005 to his “close friend,” convicted felon Louis DeNaples, who was trying to win the state gaming commission’s approval to open slot machines at a resort he owned. When his office began an investigation into DeNaples for lying about his ties to organized crime, Marino's assistants uncovered his reference and notified the Justice Department, which transferred the investigation out of Marino’s office. But questions about Marino’s ties to DeNaples remained.

Defending his actions, Marino said on a local radio show that the Department of Justice gave him permission to be a reference for DeNaples. But the Justice Department says there is “no record of Marino having received the permission” to serve as a reference for DeNaples and that Marino never informed the General Counsel office. Although Marino stands by his claim that he received written permission, he failed to produce any letter from the Department.

When the Justice Department launched an investigation into Marino’s actions, he resigned and promptly took a $250,000-a-year job as “DeNaples’ in-house lawyer.” Marino later under-reported his income on his financial disclosure forms, reporting that he only received $25,000 from DeNaples. Even Zack Oldham of the conservative blog RedState said of Marino’s actions: “The reality is just as bad as–if not worse than–the optics of this scandal.”

The DeNaples affair wasn’t even the first time Marino had run into corruption accusations. When Marino was District Attorney in Lycoming County, he tried to get a friend out of a drug charge by going behind the back of the county judge who had refused to toss out his friend’s conviction. According to the Luzeme County Citizens Voice, Marino “approached another judge and won the expungement, but the plan backfired when the second judge learned of the first judge's involvement in the case.”

Marino continued to struggle with the truth in his campaign for Congress. He criticized his opponent, Rep. Chris Carney, for leaving Washington as an anti-abortion rights bill was being circulated during the health care reform debate. Carney was not in Washington at the time because his wife was undergoing surgery for breast cancer.

He later alleged that Carney “has no problem spending taxpayers’ money for abortions” and that Pennsylvania women were receiving taxpayer-subsidized abortions under the new health care law, even though nonpartisan fact-checkers have confirmed, repeatedly, that the law prohibits taxpayer funding for abortion.

Marino also berated his opponent for refusing to take questions from the press on political matters after Carney, a Navy Reservist, was called for active duty and was barred by law from making “statements to or answer questions from the news media regarding political issues or regarding government policies.”

But his ethical challenges have not kept the far-right from embracing him. In fact, his rightwing politics have earned him the endorsement of Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum, Rick Santorum’s America’s Foundation, Mike Huckabee’s HuckPAC, the Family Research Council, and the Government Is Not God PAC.

On the issue of immigration, Marino opposes a pathway for citizenship for illegal immigrants, and touts his endorsement from Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, which has been called a “nativist extremist organization” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. In his Americans for Legal Immigration PAC survey, Marino says he strongly favors Arizona’s severe SB 1070 law, would refuse to support comprehensive immigration reform, and that he would consider impeaching the President over immigration policy.

Marino said he would vote against extending unemployment benefits, maintaining that some of the people on unemployment simply don’t “want to go get work because they are being paid to stay home.” He said that non-senior citizens should face cuts in Social Security benefits if not the elimination of the program altogether, saying: “my generation and probably the generation that follows me, we are going to have to step up to the plate and say, ‘We are not going to get Social Security.’” The 60 Plus Association, a front group for the health care and pharmaceutical industries which supports privatizing Social Security, aired TV ads on Marino’s behalf.

In a radio interview in August, Marino reportedly suggested eliminating the IRS and the Departments of Education and Energy and replacing them with new agencies, saying, “There’s got to be a total revolution there.”

Despite the ethical cloud surrounding Marino, his hard-line conservative views and support from the Radical Right helped him win election to Congress. Watch this segment from an NBC affiliate revealing Marino’s ethical troubles:

Over the weekend, police officers in Los Angeles shot and killed a Guatemalan immigrant who was reportedly threatening local residents with a knife, and the incident set off several nights of unrest in the neighborhood .

But according to Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, it is not the shooting but rather the new movie "Machete" is actually responsible for the tensions: 

Especially having a movie like Robert Rodriguez's MACHETE showing in over 3,000 movie theaters in America, we must be on guard for possible massive civil unrest. The movie Machete is an expensive, anti-American, propaganda film masquerading as satire. The movie depicts illegal aliens killing Americans who they believe are deserving of death because of their racism and violence towards Hispanics. While a film demonizing Americans is broadcast across the land, the remake of the 1980's film Red Dawn has been canceled. Mobs of well armed illegal aliens attacking demonized Americans is promoted while a movie about Americans defending our homeland from invasion by communist forces is canceled. Does everyone understand what is happening here?

The latest illegal alien fueled riots in Los Angeles began three days after MACHETE was released nationally, depicting an army of illegals violently rising up against American oppressors. If the unrest in Los Angeles continues or spreads, ALIPAC will publicly demand that Machete be withdrawn from theaters.

ALIPAC goes on to warn that "illegal alien fueled riots and mayhem" will continue until "We The People" reclaim our nation:

These incidents should be a warning to all Americans that illegal alien fueled riots and mayhem can manifest in the blink of an eye in response to unexpected provocations. The illegals are feeling the heat from Americans and are ready to jump. Please make sure that you and your family members are properly prepared for any future mass disturbances and please utilize all of your American rights to provide for your own security and preparedness.

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Things will get worse and become more horrific until We The People unify our time and resources to take back our government. We cannot be safe, secure, or economically stable much less prosperous, until our nation is made healthy again and the Republic is Restored.